Annual health assessment underway

Technician Carolina Arango, right, asks detailed nutrition questions of Martha Cisneros in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey mobile exam unit set up in Long Beach, CA on Tuesday, January 7, 2014
The units, which consist of four trailers joined together, are used to collect health and nutrition data from the general public to get a better look at the overall health of Americans.
(Photo by Scott Varley, Daily Breeze)

The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey currently has one of its three mobile exam units set up in Long Beach, CA on Tuesday, January 7, 2014
The units, which consist of four trailers joined together, are used to collect health and nutrition data from the general public to get a better look at the overall health of Americans.
(Photo by Scott Varley, Daily Breeze)

The future of America’s health depends in part on what is being collected inside a parked mobile trailer in Long Beach.

There, Los Angeles County residents allow workers from the federal government to draw their blood, X-ray their bones and test their muscles.

The low-key data collection process is part of a decades-old national effort that gives researchers, physicians and policymakers clues as to what diseases are on the rise and how to find solutions to help Americans get healthier.

Over time, some discoveries have led to reforms, said Jacque DeMatteis, study manager for a team with the National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey, also known as NHANES.

“Because of the work we do, we found high levels of lead in people’s blood” beginning in the 1970s, DeMatteis said, which led to laws to reduce lead in gasoline, food and soft drink cans.

A prevalence of obesity led to the proliferation of programs encouraging diet and exercise, and an increase in the number of children born with defects, for example, prompted physicians to encourage more pregnant women to include folic acid in their diet, DeMatteis added.

“Data have continued to indicate that undiagnosed diabetes is a significant problem in the United States,” according to a statement from NHANES. “Efforts by government and private agencies to increase public awareness, especially among minority populations, have been intensified. These are just a few examples of what survey findings have meant. The current program promises continuing contributions and some new initiatives.”

The survey has been conducted for the past 54 years and is part of a program that provides the information to the National Center for Health Statistics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Since December, officials from NHANES have been on site in Long Beach and Monrovia and 14 other counties across the United States examining the physical fitness and dietary habits of 5,000 randomly selected Americans. The team in Long Beach hopes to test at least 500 people by February.

Staff members randomly select households using a computer algorithm. Mailers are then sent to those addresses, explaining how that home was selected for a visit by team members of NHANES. If a resident is interested in participating and is eligible, he or she may receive up to $125 plus transportation costs and the results of nearly $4,500 worth of medical testing.

“People are willing to give their time, so the government is willing to pay,” DeMatteis said.

Some of the testing includes blood work, a muscle strength test, a bone density measurement scan and a taste and smell test, as well as dental work.

NHANES does not diagnosis or treat the patient, who remains anonymous, but a doctor from the National Center for Health Statistics will notify and refer participants if the test results show a sign of a problem.

In the next few years, researchers will use data collected by NHANES to develop prevention programs toward helping people reduce their risk for heart and lung disease, officials said.